


The great love story of the man who lost his soul and the man who, instead of demanding he find it again, offered to share his own

by czennie127



Series: Dazzling Nightmares in the Streets of Seoul [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Big Switch Energy, Biting, Dirty Talk, Eventual Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lee Taeyong is Whipped, M/M, Mating, Porn With Plot, Rimming, Scenting, Self-Esteem Issues, Topping from the Bottom, Unprotected Sex, bffs yutaten, bottom!taeyong, fox hybrid!ten, he might seem like a dick at times but he's Trying His Best, implied PTSD, it gets sad but it also gets filthy, justwolfthings, nct is a gang, power bottom!ten, ten has gone through a lot, ten has questionable morals, ten is a multilingual king even in this universe, ten is bad at feelings, top!Taeyong, top!ten, wolf hybrid!taeyong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:54:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/czennie127/pseuds/czennie127
Summary: "Taeyong looked kind. Ten did too, but he was anything but."Or: The one where Ten still hasn't confronted the demons from his past, and has every intention of keeping it that way until he meets one Lee Taeyong.(prequel to "Specks of gold ; " but can be read separately)
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Moon Taeil, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Dazzling Nightmares in the Streets of Seoul [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673341
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	The great love story of the man who lost his soul and the man who, instead of demanding he find it again, offered to share his own

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a prequel to "Specks of gold ; "  
> It's set in the same universe, but can be read as a standalone. If you find Yuta's character interesting and want to know what will happen in the future between him and Johnny, go peep the previous story! If you're here exclusively for TaeTen, I hope you enjoy :)  
> Make sure to read the tags for possible trigger warnings!

Ten met Yuta when he was fifteen. He had been chained to the basement for weeks by then, cheeks sunken in, sweaty black hair matted to his forehead. When the guards had opened the door he could barely hold himself up anymore, but still had it in him to bare his teeth at them. His mind was like misconnected puzzle pieces, the memory of the past few months hazy. Bangkok seemed like a faraway dream, the summer heat rolling down the streets and the sun leaking on the field across the school. Ten had forgotten his parents’ names first. Now he was starting to forget their faces too.

The men who had taken him had thrown him in the basement after Ten had managed to free himself from his restraints, and had almost bit a nurse’s arm off. They had dragged him down the stairs like a rabid dog, blood still sizzling on his tongue, and kicked his ribs in until he couldn’t breathe anymore. They liked to starve him for days on end, trying to break his spirit. Ten had always been spoiled – always well-fed, a life of privilege and luxury. But this wasn’t Bangkok, and he didn’t need to understand Korean to feel the hateful burn of the words the men had thrown at him after chaining him to the wall. 

Still, Ten had endured. He knew they would have killed him already if they wanted to, so if he was alive it was because they still needed him – and that meant he still had a chance. When three men had dragged Yuta into the basement, struggling to keep him still, something had hit Ten’s sensitive nose. He had registered immediately that Yuta was also a fox hybrid, probably a little older than himself, but unlike the men upstairs, when he looked at Nakamoto Yuta he hadn’t seen a terrified seventeen-year old boy. His eyes were always golden and his teeth on show. That wasn’t fear. Ten had smelled a fighter. 

Ten still remembered the Japanese he had studied at school. It was odd how that memory hadn’t faded, and Yuta immediately perked up upon hearing his mother tongue. There was dried blood on his forehead, like someone had pushed him and he’d hit his head on the floor. Ten locked eyes with him and swore he would get them out of there. 

He still isn’t sure how he and Yuta both didn’t give up, or die in the process. A few weeks after they escaped, the police received an anonymous tip about illegal experiments being conducted on hybrids in the suburbs of Seoul. Ten and Yuta had watched their abductors being brought out in handcuffs from the rooftops, too high up for anyone to see them. The head surgeon wasn’t among them and the police, unable to locate his whereabouts, had declared him on the run – and, eventually, missing. Ten would never forget the gurgling and bloody sounds the man had made when he’d ripped his throat out with his bare teeth. 

They decided to start a pack after they met Sicheng. It had been almost two years after Ten and Yuta had escaped the clinic, and Sicheng was also a foreigner; his Korean still awkward, the boy so tall and clueless he immediately stood out in a crowd. They never decided on a leader. Ten knew he and Yuta both had souls too damaged to be fit to lead anyone, and Sicheng had no interest in gaining power or influence. 

It had been just Ten and Yuta for so long that at first it was hard to adjust. After the blood pact they had made in that very basement, the two had been attached at the hip, so much that now that they were older, people – including Sicheng, which led to weeks of misunderstandings until Yuta decided to spare him and explain – simply assumed they were mated. It wasn’t like Ten hadn’t considered it, and he knew Yuta had too. But they had gone through too much together, and they were of no comfort to each other during their darkest hours. Which was, surprisingly, where Sicheng came in, his presence soothing and quiet. He taught Ten Mandarin (he tried with Yuta too, but the man was too stubborn, even though he had learned Korean with incredible ease.) (“I don’t want to forget who I was,” Yuta has said one night, in Japanese, eyes fixed on the deserted street. Ten understood, almost. He knew Yuta still thought about his hometown, the people he used to know, the life he had back in Osaka. Ten didn’t know what was worse: Yuta’s longing, or the gaping hole in his own memories, his childhood lost somewhere on an operating table, Ten’s skin bleeding and his mouth open in a silent scream.)

Ten was nineteen when his pack had expanded. Haechan was a kid back then, being tossed around from one foster family to another. However, the thing about Lee Donghyuck was that, even as a teenager, he had a temper and terrible self-control. And that, coupled with a set of sharp teeth, was a recipe for disaster. Ten had eventually forced him to go back to school and graduate, something he wished he could have done himself, and after coming of age Haechan had started working with Yuta, bartending at the club. 

Ten was twenty-four when he met Moon Taeil over a glass of wine. He had been surprised when he first saw him: feline hybrids were rare, and he had been even more shocked when he had learned the man was part of a wolf pack and mated to its leader, one Kim Doyoung. Ten and Taeil always met alone at first, and always to talk business. That was how Ten and his pack, now known as NCT, had entered the underground scene of Seoul. Yuta and him had always been fighters, after all. Getting paid for it helped ease Yuta’s conscience. 

Watching him come out of a building with teeth stained with blood, Taeil had given Ten a long look. 

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he had replied, Korean coming easy to him now, “why wouldn’t it be?”

Taeil hadn’t replied. Ten didn’t know what people saw when they looked at him: eyes sparkling, sharp tongue that switched quickly between languages, even sharper teeth, all masked by a charming smile, coy looks he gave between thick lashes – just a moment before ripping someone’s heart out of their chest. Yuta was the only one who didn’t make him feel like a monster, but Ten still knew they were not the same. Knew he was far more broken, that something had cracked within him when he had been taken away from his family and tortured for months, screaming himself hoarse as he felt his lungs fill with chemicals. 

He had made peace with it. That is, until his meetings with Taeil turned more friendly and the man decided it was time for his whole pack and NCT to meet. Ten didn’t entirely trust wolf hybrids – he knew they could be temperamental, but then again, he wasn’t really one to judge. He agreed to the meeting out of politeness, and partly because Haechan was desperate to make new friends. 

Sicheng bonded with the wolves immediately; Ten had learned by now that even without his powers there was not a single person on earth that Dong Sicheng couldn’t charm. Haechan was a little shit as usual. Obviously, everyone adored him. Even Yuta made an effort to get out of his comfort zone and Ten, feeling out of place, had found himself wandering away, walking the corridors inside the house of the pack. The loud voices were giving him a headache. He could smell Yuta lighting a cigarette even from afar, but was too tired to go reprimand him, and he was about to doze off on the living room’s couch when he was distracted by a sound.

A whimper, scared. It sounded like a wolf hybrid. And Ten knew it wasn’t any of his business, but the boy sounded even younger than Haechan, and it made him feel like he was back in the basement, watching a bloody Yuta get dragged through the doors. Ten was darting down the stairs before he knew it.

“Calm down, calm down…”

He followed the voice and swinged the door open. A boy was curled up in a corner, face streaked with tears, a man bent over him trying to comfort him. As soon as he saw Ten on the doorstep, the boy tried to get up, growling and snapping his fangs, eyes turning blood red.

“Xiaojun, stay _down_!” The man held him in place and, voice strained, he whipped his head towards Ten, face pale and exhausted. “Wait outside,” he hissed, and something about him made Ten immediately step back, shutting the door. 

He stood in silence for a few minutes before the same man came out – the boy, Xiaojun, still growling softly on the other side of the room.

“I’m sorry,” said Ten, and for once he was being genuine. “I heard… I thought someone was in danger.”

The man shook his head. “It’s okay, you couldn’t have known. Are you one of NCT? Taeil-hyung had mentioned you guys were supposed to come over tonight.”

Ten had nodded silently. He was a little starstruck, if he was being honest, despite fully knowing this was an awful time to be starstruck – and the man was a wolf hybrid, anyway, and Ten was _Ten_ , so the whole thing was hopeless to begin with.

“I’m Lee Taeyong,” supplied the man after a few seconds, offering a hand for Ten to shake, “Doyoung’s second in command.”

Ten stared at him for a while without replying. Taeyong’s eyes hadn’t turned red once, instead they were a warm chocolate colour, contrasting with his stark features, cheekbones and jawline looking like they had been sharpened with a knife, dark hair swept back. But Ten could see his fangs even when he spoke. He looked kind. Ten did too, but he was anything but. 

“I’m Ten.”

Taeyong lifted an eyebrow. “Is that your real name?”

He grinned lazily. “No, but that’s none of your concern.”

Later he learned that Xiaojun had just been rescued from a lab by Taeyong himself, and was still trying to deal with what had happened to him. Ten stayed quiet for the rest of the night but, a second before leaving, he turned to Taeyong. The man looked at him slightly surprised.

“I can help, if you want,” said Ten, quietly enough that no one else would hear. “With Xiaojun, I mean. I know what it’s like to go through all that,” he added, Taeyong’s face unreadable. He didn’t know why he’d said that. Yuta and him never talked about what happened outside of their pack – not even Taeil knew. But Ten had recognised the pain in Xiaojun’s eyes, and also the way Taeyong had looked completely helpless, not knowing how to comfort him.

It had begun like that. Ten started spending a lot of time with Doyoung’s pack. Xiaojun took his sweet time before he started to trust him, but Ten could understand that, and he was quick enough to dodge him when the boy got too defensive (and, in turn, aggressive), and also strong enough to pin him to the wall and wait until Xiaojun calmed down.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean – “ 

“It’s alright, Jun, I know. I know.” He felt Xiaojun bury his face against his shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears. Ten held him tighter. 

“Is everything alright?”

Ten turned slightly to look at Taeyong, and it felt like their first meeting all over again, only now the roles were reversed. He realised only then that he and Xiaojun had been speaking Chinese. He nodded silently, then ruffled Xiaojun’s hair.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

The boy nodded, still looking terribly guilty that he had tried to attack Ten. 

He whispered again that it wasn’t his fault before suggesting the boy get some sleep, then he followed Taeyong outside. 

“Your Chinese is really good,” said Taeyong, strangely shy. Ten didn’t get it. He had been courted before, but Taeyong didn’t seem to be interested in him that way, yet still blushed like a teenager whenever he was around. Ten had deduced he probably made him uneasy, or he was uncomfortable being the only one knowing about Xiaojun and Ten’s shared past. 

“My Korean is better,” he replied, and even _he_ knew he sounded cold.

“You’re not from Seoul, are you?” asked Taeyong, as they opened the window and climbed out on the roof. Ten had noticed that, true to his wolf side, Taeyong loved to soak under the moonlight, and was more often on the roof than he was in his own room. 

Ten laughed quietly, climbing out after him.

“No, I’m not.”

Taeyong looked at him. Ten waited for another question. Instead, Taeyong turned to look at the sky and said: “I was born and raised here. I met Doyoung after getting my ass kicked by another pack, down at Han river. We pretty much grew up together.” 

Ten hummed quietly, watching Taeyong’s perfect profile, the other’s eyes still trained on the full moon. Though, judging by the dusting of pink on his cheeks, Taeyong had noticed Ten was staring. 

“I’m from Thailand,” he said eventually, very quiet, “Bangkok, I think.”

Taeyong just looked at him, seemingly not surprised at all.

“We could go, sometime.”

Ten almost laughed. “You… What? You want to go to Thailand with me?”

Now Taeyong was smiling, embarrassed. “Why not,” he replied and then, all of a sudden, took Ten’s hand in his and laced their fingers together. Ten froze. 

“What are you doing,” he deadpanned, even though he hadn’t tried to free his hand from Taeyong’s. The wolf hybrid looked hurt, but only for a second.

“Do you want me to let go?” he asked softly. Ten didn’t know how to react. Anyone else would have backed off at the venom in his voice, but somehow Taeyong knew better than to trust Ten’s prickly attitude, and wanted to hear it from him instead. 

“You don’t want to go there, Lee Taeyong,” he warned him. 

The man turned to fully look at him. “You think you know me better than I do myself?”

And fuck, Ten kind of loved it, because before that day Yuta had been the only person who hadn’t in some capacity been scared of him. Taeyong wasn’t afraid of Ten, though. He didn’t look at him like he expected him to attack at any given second, an animal turned feral by pain. 

“Taeyong-hyung,” he said this time, and it was a first. He always used Taeyong’s full name, almost to put a distance between them, to prevent himself from thinking of Taeyong as more than a fleeting presence in his life. 

Taeyong noticed too, and gripped his hand tighter. 

“Stay here for a while?”

Ten did. They didn’t speak another word until sunrise, Taeyong finally asleep and their fingers still interlaced. Ten softly let go of his hand and went back inside. 

After that, Ten did his best to avoid him – and, for almost a month, it worked. He quietly slipped in and out of Xiaojun’s room, the boy getting more and more comfortable with him, and mostly stayed at the NCT headquarters, going on missions with Yuta nearly every night.

“What the hell is up with you?” panted Yuta one night, exhausted after Ten had drank from him to avoid passing out after an especially violent encounter. Ten smiled with bloody teeth, the leftover adrenaline from the fight still making his head spin. 

“I mean it, Ten, wanna explain why you’re throwing yourself into danger like this?”

“Live fast and die young, right?” laughed Ten, still breathless.

“Don’t you fucking dare _die young_ on me,” grumbled Yuta, still looking suspicious as he helped him get up. He didn’t ask further, because he knew fully well Ten wouldn’t explain. And, to be honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he even had an answer.

A few nights later, Ten could have sworn he was hallucinating as he was silently leaving the wolves’ house and, in broken Thai, a voice said: “Don’t go.” He turned quickly and, this time in Korean, Taeyong added: “Please.”

He looked even more tired than usual. Ten knew that, even though Doyoung was the official leader of their pack, Taeyong still insisted on taking up most of the responsibilities, and never once complained about it. 

“Let’s – “ Ten suddenly felt like it was getting hard to breathe. “Let’s go outside.”

Somehow they were on the roof again, but Ten’s chest still felt tight. He forced himself to take a deep breath and looked at Taeyong, only to find the other was already looking at him.

“Hyung, what are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean?”

Ten leveled him with a look. “You’re a wolf, and I’m a fox hybrid, not to mention…” He paused for a second. “It’s pointless,” he eventually settled for.

“Is that your only problem with me? That I’m a wolf?”

Ten had to laugh at that. “ _I_ don’t have a problem with _you_. But – have you met me? You’re a good man, Lee Taeyong. You deserve better than damaged goods.”

For the first time since they’d met, Taeyong bared his teeth at him, but didn’t otherwise acknowledge his last statement. “So what? Taeil-hyung is not a wolf either, yet him and Doyoung make it work.”

Ten felt his face heat up but still forced himself to look unimpressed.

“Is that what you’re saying? That you want to be my mate?”

It was Taeyong’s turn to blush, but his voice didn’t waver. “I’m not not saying that.”

“Are you seriously – I’d never leave my pack.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Taeyong seemed to misread Ten’s blank expression. “I would come to you, if you wanted me to,” he explained.

Ten had understood that the first time, yet he still didn’t believe it after hearing it a second time. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said hurriedly, starting to sound panicked. “I’m not okay, I’m not – “ 

“I know that,” Taeyong interrupted him, staring at him right in the eyes. Ten kind of wanted to cry at how gorgeous and earnest he looked. “I don’t want you to change, Ten. I fell for the man you are now, not for the person I hoped you would become.”

Ten wondered how the hell Taeyong could say things like that out loud. He felt vulnerable just from looking at him, let alone trying to voice any of his feelings. But once again, he wasn’t sure he even knew what to say. 

And what he finally said surprised even him.

“Cittaphon Leechaiyapornkul.”

Taeyong looked perplexed only for a moment. “Is that your real name?”

“Yeah. Not even Yuta knows about it.”

“Why not?”

“It’s the only thing I remember about my past. Before I was taken.” 

He had expected Taeyong to frown. Pity him, at the very least. Instead, the wolf just nodded and bowed his head, murmuring: “Thank you.”

He lifted his eyes again, and Ten felt like the world could have been on fire around them – and for him, it always kind of was – but he still would have chosen to look at Taeyong. He looked unreal in the night, somehow older than the first time they’d met, even though it hadn’t even been a year since then. He looked safe. Ten was shaking like a leaf when Taeyong kissed him.

It was light, a swift brush of lips before Taeyong backed off a bit and looked at him, clearly expecting rejection. Ten could feel his walls slowly crashing to the ground and it hurt, but something else hurt even worse, and he had a feeling it was forcing himself to stay away from Taeyong that was gnawing at his soul. 

He smirked. “That all you got?”

Only then Taeyong dared to smile. “Why, do you want more?” he teased, and looked so relieved Ten hadn’t pushed him away.

Ten simply grabbed him by the collar, Taeyong going wide-eyed, and brought their faces closer. 

“Kiss me,” he ordered quietly, so Taeyong did.

Ten moaned when he felt his tongue against his own, hands not leaving Taeyong’s shirt but tightening around the fabric, and he didn’t even try to be quiet as he growled and pushed Taeyong roughly, climbing over his lap. 

“We’re – fuck, Ten – “ Taeyong tried to focus as the other man grabbed his hair to expose his neck, and started sucking on the skin. “We’re _still on the roof_.”

Ten bit his neck harshly. “So what? I thought you liked the roof.”

Taeyong laughed, incredulous, looking around for a second. 

“Promise you won’t leave in the morning like last time?” he asked.

“You make it sound so awful.”

“It was pretty awful.”

Ten whined. “God damn it, Lee Taeyong, stop _making me feel things_.”

Taeyong smiled at that, and was still smiling when he kissed him.

“Things?”

“Quiet,” hissed Ten, and Taeyong complied, watching him shimmy out of his shirt and throw it somewhere behind him. Taeyong ran a hand down his chest, red in his eyes, his touch feather-light but not like he was afraid Ten would break, more as if he couldn’t believe he finally got to touch him. 

“I’m sorry,” Ten blurted out all of a sudden. “The scars, I mean.” He vaguely gestured to his naked chest. “I know they can be… off-putting.”

Taeyong furrowed his brow. “Wow,” he said, after a second of silence. “Really, Ten?” Before he could reply, Taeyong had grabbed his hand and pressed it down his dick and _oh_ , sure enough, Taeyong was hard, and there were jeans involved and all but Ten was still kind of hyperventilating because he had his hand on _Lee Taeyong’s dick_. “Still think I find you _off-putting_?”

“What do I know, you could have some weird kink – “ 

Taeyong shut him up with a kiss, and for once he was the opposite of calm and controlled. Every one of his touches was scorching hot with passion, his fingers pressing everywhere on Ten’s skin like he couldn’t get enough of him. Ten, true to his reputation, ripped Taeyong’s shirt open with his teeth, sharp fangs grazing his pale stomach and leaving red marks behind.

Taeyong closed his eyes for a second, trying to collect himself. Ten smirked. 

“You okay there?”

“Hmm. Yeah. Perfectly fine. Do feel free to carry on.”

Ten chuckled against his skin and pressed a kiss right below his belly button, before unbuttoning his jeans. 

“You know, I really want to suck you off – “ 

“Oh my god, _Ten_ – “ 

“ – but I want you to fuck me even more, so can we reschedule that to, uh, later on tonight?”

Taeyong opened his eyes again. 

“Are you being serious right now?”

“I mean, we can also cancel it if you’re not that into getting your dick sucked.”

“Ten, _stop talking_.”

“Why?” He grinned cheekily. “Trying to preserve your cool guy persona?” He yanked Taeyong’s pants down, the other lifting his hips slightly to help him, since Ten was still straddling him and didn’t look like he wanted to move anytime soon. 

“Yeah, no, I think that ship has sailed.”

Ten smiled at him, toying with the elastic of his boxers. “You’re cute.”

“Just that?”

“Fishing for compliments, are we?” He leaned in closer, pulling down his own zipper in the meantime. His lips brushed Taeyong’s ear and he felt him shiver. “I bet you can fuck me so well, too,” he purred, and felt his cock twitch when Taeyong growled at his words. 

Unexpectedly, Taeyong pulled his pants and boxers down his ass, Ten taking a sharp breath as the night air hit his skin. 

“I want you to sit on my face.”

Ten moaned and had to press a hand down his dick so he wouldn’t come just from the words.

“Fuck, are you serious?”

“Come on,” Taeyong urged him, impatient as Ten kicked his pants off. Then he grabbed him firmly by the thighs, maneuvering him as if Ten weighed nothing, and he was still unsure and about to say something when he felt Taeyong’s tongue lap at his hole. Ten keened, willing his legs to stay in place and shifting his weight on his palms, panting harshly. 

“Oh god, fuck,” he moaned. “You’re going to kill me.”

Taeyong didn’t reply, just circled his hole with his tongue again, and Ten felt like he was about to pass out. He felt the other’s grip tighten on the back of his thighs, then Taeyong spread his cheeks and pushed his tongue inside. 

Ten was messy and wet and leaking in a matter of minutes, Taeyong adding a finger along with his tongue, knuckles thick against his walls. Ten tightened around him and Taeyong let out a snarl.

“Fuck, Taeyongie – stop – I’m gonna come if you keep – “ 

Ten was struggling to form a coherent sentence, but Taeyong stopped only for a second, biting at his inner thigh and making him shudder. 

“Then come, baby.”

Ten faintly thought Taeyong had just set the bar way too high for his sex life, because no one else would ever be able to meet his expectations after Lee Taeyong had reduced him to a trembling mess, coming untouched from his tongue alone, his breath being knocked out of him. And normally he would have tried to keep his cool, but this time all he could do was scoot down until he was on Taeyong’s lap again, kissing him hungrily, not caring about how desperate he looked. He pushed Taeyong’s underwear down, skin burning hot.

“Fuck – “ Taeyong panted against his neck, looking this close to losing it, “ Don’t you need – ah – a moment?”

“No,” growled Ten, sucking and biting at his nipples, Taeyong writhing under him. He met his eyes. “You know, normally I would make you work for it. Make you beg. You’d do that for me, wouldn’t you?”

Taeyong kissed him again, equally as desperate. “I’d do anything for you.”

Hell, that was enough for Ten to start getting hard again, rubbing his ass against Taeyong’s cock, still wet with spit. Taeyong tried to grab onto something and settled on his hips, sharp nails leaving angry marks on his tan skin. 

“Beautiful,” whispered Ten, staring at him quietly for a second, barely noticing he had slipped into Thai. 

Taeyong looked back at him, pleading, eyes wide and lips slightly parted, his breath coming out ragged. Slowly, Ten wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking lightly, and Taeyong said his name and it sounded like a prayer. It was making Ten’s brain foggy. He lined up with Taeyong’s dick and pushed the tip in. 

Taeyong let out a loud moan, his grip on Ten’s hips tightening, and he sat up on his elbows, making Ten sink down a little further. He swayed his hips slowly, adjusting, his hand on Taeyong’s throat tracing the vein that was pulsing with blood. 

“Beautiful,” he said again, this time in Korean. 

Taeyong looked up at him, tears in his eyes from the arousal and the torturously slow pace Ten was going at, and he had to pretend not to hear when Taeyong sat up even further, pushing his dick all the way in and wrapping his arms around him, murmuring: “God, I love you.”

“Fuck me,” panted Ten, nibbling at his ear, his cock fully hard again and squeezed in between them. 

Taeyong canted his hips up and at the same time Ten ground down, and they both moaned in unison, kisses turning sloppy and open mouthed, Ten tasting the salt on Taeyong’s cheeks. His thrusts were slow and deep, not hurried despite how long Ten had made him wait, and he had to shut his mouth not to say it back, _I love you too, I love you I love you I –_

“Taeyong – ah – there,” he let out, fingernails raking down his back, the other finally picking up his pace a little and reaching even deeper, which only served to make Ten more desperate. 

They clung to each other as if they were drowning, Taeyong whispering sweet nothings with his eyes shut, holding him so close Ten could feel his cock rub against his skin with every thrust. He suddenly sinked his fangs in Taeyong’s neck, drunk on his scent, and came a second time as soon as he felt Taeyong starting to shake under him, thrusts turning uneven as he brokenly moaned his name. Taeyong kept thrusting inside him until it was almost too much, and pulled out a second before Ten became oversensitive, slumping back on the roof. Ten tried to catch his breath, climbing off Taeyong and lying quietly next to him.

“You know,” said the wolf hybrid after a few minutes, taking his hand like he had done the first time. “My room is just downstairs. And it has a perfectly comfortable bed.”

Ten laughed, breathless. “Sounds good.” He sat up, rubbing his sore knees, and laughed harder at Taeyong’s pained expression, his back a mess between the marks Ten’s nails had left and the hard imprint of the tiles on the roof. 

Taeyong’s bed was too small for the both of them to fit in it. After some awkward shuffling, Ten pulling one of Taeyong’s sweaters over his head, they ended up under the blankets with their legs tangled, facing each other. Taeyong rubbed his nose against Ten’s forehead, not even trying to be subtle as he inhaled his scent.

“Go to sleep,” whispered Ten, closing his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at him.

Ten slept poorly. He tried to focus on the soft sound of the other man’s breathing, but his mind was scattered, memories flashing in his head, back and forth between past and present. When he eventually fell asleep, it was to nightmares of vivid red and the unmistakable smell of disinfectant. He woke with a start, hissing as the morning light blinded him. He sat up.

Taeyong was still in bed, seemingly asleep, and Ten let himself admire the pattern of bruises and scratches on his pale back for a few seconds. He almost touched him, but decided against it. There was something dark and heavy settling in his stomach that said: you can’t have this. This is too good for you. He is too good for you. 

Quietly, Ten let his bare feet hit the floor, scanning the room for his own clothes. His fingers hesitated at the hem of the borrowed sweater, Taeyong’s smell strong and soothing. Ten sighed to himself, knuckles turning white.

“Ten?”

Taeyong had cracked an eye open and was watching him, expression impossible to read. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” said Ten quietly, refusing to look at him. “I should…”

“Go? Why?” When the other didn’t reply, Taeyong also sat up, and Ten tried not to get lost in the way the bedsheets artfully draped over his body, the man looking like he had jumped straight out of a painting. “You’re not running away because we slept together.” There was a pause, and Ten turned to look outside the window, swallowing hard. “You’re running away because of what I said last night, aren’t you? Ten, look at me.”

He didn’t. Taeyong asked him a second time, and finally Ten turned his head.

“We were literally in the middle of sex,” he said in the end, and there was an edge to his voice, a warning: stay away. “I don’t expect you to – “ 

“I meant what I said,” Taeyong cut him off, and this time he sounded almost angry. “Stop trying to… take what I say and feel, and twist it so it fits your narrative. I don’t expect you to love me back. But what I said is true, and I’m not gonna pretend otherwise. If that scares you enough to run away from me, then… then go, but stop leading me on like this. I can’t take it anymore.”

Taeyong had always been a quiet man, and Ten wasn’t sure he’d ever heard him talk so much all at once. By his voice, it half sounded like he was holding back tears, and half like he was also holding himself back from clawing Ten’s eyes out in frustration. 

“Please come closer.” 

“Why would I?”

Anger disappeared from Taeyong’s face. “I need you.” 

Ten made a choked sound (which wasn’t a _sob_ , because Ten didn’t fucking cry, he fought, he always had - ) and crawled next to Taeyong, sitting back on his heels and finally looking at him.

“I don’t want to leave,” he whispered eventually, his hand carefully carding through the man’s hair, the wolf’s eyes fluttering closed for a second as Ten slowly ran his fingers across the high arch of his brows. 

“Then don’t,” said Taeyong, eyes now open; still no red. Still no danger. “Stay with me.”

“I’m not sure you understand.”

“I don’t know everything, sure,” admitted Taeyong, “but I’m not clueless. I know your life has never been easy. I’m still not walking away.”

“That’s how I met Yuta, you know?” blurted out Ten suddenly. “At the lab. It’s the reason we’re blood brothers. The first man I killed… he was the head surgeon of the team. The one who gave me and Yuta most of our scars. Even today, when I say my age, I’m still not… completely sure that’s right. I lost track of time, back in there. Lost track of a lot of things.” He finally looked at Taeyong. “I don’t remember a lot of my life, hyung. I’m half a man. And god, you are… you are kind, and beautiful, and you take care of your pack without ever expecting as much as a thanks in return, and you’ve seen my worst and you’re still not scared. I can’t. My whole life I’ve been on my own. I’m not dragging you down with me – not you, of all people.”

Taeyong gently lifted his face with a finger. 

“You know what I see when I look at you? I see that you would do anything for your best friend. I see that you took Haechan in even though you didn’t have to, just because he had nowhere else to go. I see that you offered to help Xiaojun simply because you know how it feels to go through all of this alone. So why, Ten? Why do you want to keep being alone?”

Ten felt his lips, soft, on his wet cheeks. He shut his eyes.

“I don’t want to.”

“Then let me in. _Please_.”

When they kissed, Ten didn’t know anymore if he was crying or Taeyong was, but he didn’t stop kissing him even with tears making his chest heavy and, for the first time, Ten didn’t leave. 

It was slow, but Taeyong was patient. They argued often, because Taeyong was stubborn and Ten was determined to prove he was always right, and instead of apologising or talking about it when something was wrong, his natural response was to leave bites all over Taeyong’s skin and fuck him harsh and quick. Taeyong didn’t stop telling him he loved him, adoring kisses leaving wet trails all over his old scars, down his naked body, on his fingertips even when they were stained with blood. 

One day the two packs were together, and Ten was watching Taeyong playfully bickering with Yuta, his smile bright, eyes crinkled in laughter. Unsurprisingly, everyone in NCT was smitten with Lee Taeyong. 

“Hey,” said Ten softly, pressing a kiss to Taeyong’s neck. The other looked up, a bit startled, then smiled at him and Ten felt like his heart was about to burst. Yuta teased them when Ten grabbed Taeyong’s hand and dragged him away, the other man giggling, a bit tipsy, and Ten effectively shutting him up when they turned a corner and he pressed him against a wall, kissing him hard.

“What is it with you?” panted Taeyong, eyes sparkling. Ten just kept looking at him. “Why are you staring at – “

“I love you.” Taeyong fell quiet, so Ten kept talking before his fear took the best of him. “I have for a while, now. Maybe since the beginning. I… I want you to be my mate, Lee Taeyong. I want you to be part of my pack, and to lead it the same way you’ve led your wolves until now.” 

Taeyong was still silent, eyes wide open, short breaths escaping his lips. Ten gave a nervous, scared laugh.

“Are you gonna…”

“My mate?” repeated Taeyong. 

“Don’t you dare cry, hyung,” snorted Ten, blushing and looking away. “And don’t say anything cheesy.”

“I just might,” grinned Taeyong, bringing their faces closer, and even after all the time that had passed Ten still felt his stomach tighten in excitement. “But you’ll forgive me, because you love me, isn’t that so?”

Ten lifted an eyebrow, meeting his eyes. “That’s right. I love you.” This time he kissed him, briefly parted for air, growling against his lips, “You’re _mine_.”

Taeyong growled in return, and it was intoxicating. Breathless and laughing in each others’ mouths, they made it just in time to Ten’s bedroom, and Ten pressed Taeyong into his bed and fucked him slowly, the way he knew Taeyong liked it, teasing him until the wolf’s eyes went red with desperation, until they were both struggling to breathe, Taeyong flipping them to ride Ten faster only to go down a few seconds later, back hitting the mattress, Ten snarling in his ear, biting him hard and keeping his hips in place with a bruising grip. 

“Fuck, Ten, you’re so good to me – “

“God, stop talking, I’m gonna lose my mind,” groaned Ten, punctuating his words with a sharp thrust, and Teaeyong moaned so loud they both knew the others must have picked it up a few doors down, but neither seemed to care much. 

“You’re gonna have me to yourself every single day from now on,” Taeyong reminded him, his mating bite still fresh, the blood shining in the moonlight, “Gonna wake up to me every morning.”

He looked smug, because he knew that for all his sarcasm and cold facade Ten had been looking forward to this moment just as much as him, and Ten couldn’t even bring himself to deny it, burying himself deeper and earning another deep moan from Taeyong.

“Hmm, you won’t be able to walk for days, fuck – “

“You sure it’s not gonna be the other way around?”

“Oh, we can do the other way around,” panted Ten. “I’ll bend over for you on every fucking surface – _fuck_ – we can do it all, I’m not gonna let you out of my sight for a second – “

“Shit, Ten – “ Their words were turning incoherent, and Taeyong arched off the bed. “You’re filthy.”

“You love it.”

“I love _you_.”

“Gross.”

Taeyong laughed, not surprised, so Ten thought it was his duty to shut him up with a few more harsh thrusts. Soon Taeyong was coming untouched between them, eyes heavy, urging Ten to fuck him harder until he tipped over the edge too, whimpering Taeyong’s name. 

Taeyong groaned.

“You’re not gonna pull out?” he huffed, amused, seeing that Ten was happily settling against him. “Not even gonna clean me up?”

Ten made a satisfied sound. “I did tell you I wasn’t gonna leave you alone for a second.”

“Who’s being gross now?”

“Me,” he admitted with a laugh, “In more ways than one.” He finally pulled out, trying to clean them up with the sheets. “Are you complaining?”

Taeyong smirked at him, fangs sharp and dangerous, his dark eyes glistening, still a few shades of red around the pupil. 

“What do you think?”

Taeyong traced Ten’s mating bite – on his chest, close to his nipple – with a finger and Ten’s breath hitched. 

From the kitchen, Yuta could be clearly heard slamming down his glass and loudly declaring: “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Ten chuckled and held Taeyong tighter.

Maybe he was right, and he was half a man after all. Maybe what he’d lost in that basement, on that operating table, ankles and wrists strapped tight, couldn’t be recovered. But – Taeyong was there, and he was whole. He kissed his mate’s mark, lips soft on his neck and tongue hot against his skin. 

“I’m here to stay,” murmured Taeyong, kissing him lightly on the top of the head, almost sensing his thoughts.

Ten knew. Maybe he was wrong, and he was not half a man – after all. 

  


  


**Author's Note:**

> Phase 1, denial: I'm not gonna write a TaeTen spin-off .  
> Phase 2, doubt: ... should I write a TaeTen spin-off?  
> Phase 3, acceptance: yes, I'm totally willing to pull my second all-nighter because I'm too invested in my TaeTen spin-off!!!
> 
> I'm here again! What can I say, I knew I had something more to say about Ten and Taeyong as soon as I made them side characters in my previous story. And, seeing as this prequel ended up being even longer than the previous story, I'd say I was right. I hope you enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster! I wanted Ten's character and his growth - reflected in his relationship with Taeyong - to be realistic, so I apologise for the push and pull and the turmoil I had to put my babies through.  
> As always, English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if I misspelled something or anything like that. I edit all my pieces several times, but I also tend to write at night and in chunks of 12 hours without taking breaks so... do with that what you will lol 
> 
> I'll be back, friends, probably with this series (I have this lil MarkHyuck story I *really* want to write) and also with stories set in different universes, so I hope you can look forward to that.  
> Until then, leave a comment if you enjoyed, I'd really love to hear you guys' opinions :) The comments I got last time really made my heart go 13-y/o-with-a-crush level of fluttering! :D If you wanna ask me more or just have a chat, find me on tumblr @ mabushii--hikari 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
